Saturday, August 28, 2010

Bananarama

Bananarama are a British female pop group which has had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Although there have been line-up changes during the years, the group enjoyed its most popular success as a trio, made up of lifelong friends Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward and Sara Dallin. Since 1988, Bananarama have been listed in the Guinness World Records as the all-female group with the most chart entries. In early 1988, founding member Siobhan Fahey left the band in order to pursue her own musical vehicle, which later became Shakespears Sister and was replaced by former Shillelagh Sisters vocalist and old acquaintance (and a friend of Siobhan's) Jacqui O'Sullivan. She left in 1991, after the release of their Pop Life album and from then on the band has remained as a duo.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Deep Sea Skiving (1983)

Deep Sea Skiving is Bananarama's first album, released in March, 1983. The album peaked at no.7 on the UK album chart and was certified Silver by the BPI. The inner-sleeve of the vinyl release contained numerous photos of the group, several of them in childhood. These pictures have not been included in any CD version of the album to date. On March 19, 2007, Bananarama's first six studio albums were re-issued by Rhino Records. All re-issues are remastered and each includes several bonus tracks, consisting of B-sides, remixes and a cover of the Sex Pistols song "No Feelings". The singles released from this album were: Aie-A-Mwana (released in 1981; it was their very first single, #96 U.K.), Really Saying Something (#5 U.K.), Shy Boy (#4 U.K.), Cheers Then (#45 U.K.), and Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye) (#5 U.K.).

Bananarama is Bananarama's second and self-titled album, released in April, 1984. The album peaked at no.16 on the UK album chart and was certified Silver by the BPI. The group continued their association with producers Jolley & Swain (who had produced some tracks on their debut album, Deep Sea Skiving) though the group attempted to display themselves as more "serious artists" after the British press had repeatedly labeled them as talentless, frivolous and controlled by their producers. Subject matter included societal attitudes to drugs, violence against women, militarism and child soldiers. With this album, Bananarama had their first significant U.S. success with the single "Cruel Summer", which became a top ten hit there (the song had also been a top 10 hit in the UK in 1983). Further hits from the album included "Robert De Niro's Waiting" (UK #3) and "Rough Justice" (UK #23). The track "Hot Line to Heaven" was also released as a single in the UK but failed to reach the top 40. The original vinyl release came in an embossed sleeve and included a poster which, as well as the album lyrics and a photo of each member of the group, contained the message: "Well, a year is a long time, people change & maybe we have too – hopefully for the better! Anyway here are results of our hard work over the past twelve months. This is for you – we hope you like it. Best Wishes, love Keren X, All the best, love Sarah x, and Lots of love, Siobhan xx". The album was dedicated to the memory of their friend Thomas ‘Kidso’ Reilly, who had recently been killed in Belfast. On March 19, 2007, Bananarama's first six studio albums were re-issued by Rhino Records. All re-issues are remastered and each includes several bonus tracks, consisting of B-sides and remixes. The singles released from this album were: Cruel Summer (released originally in 1983, #9 U.S., #8 U.K.), Robert De Niro's Waiting (#3 U.K.), Rough Justice (#23 U.K.), Hotline to Heaven (#58 U.K.), and King of the Jungle (released only in Japan). The track State I'm In, although never released as a single, it has a promo video.

Tracklist:

1-) Cruel Summer.2-) Rough Justice.3-) King of the Jungle.4-) Dream Baby.5-) Link.6-) Hotline to Heaven.7-) State I'm In.8-) Robert De Niro's Waiting.9-) Through a Child's Eyes.

True Confessions is Bananarama's third studio album, released in July, 1986. The album was not a commercial success in the UK, but achieved their biggest sales and chart success in the U.S., where the first single "Venus" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 (an achievement they never obtained in their home country). A majority of the album is produced by Tony Swain and Steve Jolley (who produced their second album). With the exception of "Venus" and "More Than Physical" (later given a garage music remix for its single version), which began Bananarama's association with the Stock, Aitken & Waterman songwriting and production team, much of the album has adult contemporary leanings. On March 19, 2007, Bananarama's first six studio albums were re-issued by Rhino Records. All re-issues are remastered and each includes several bonus tracks, consisting of B-sides and remixes. The singles released from this album were: Do Not Disturb (originally released in 1985, #31 U.K.), their best known hit, Venus (#8 U.K., #1 U.S.), More Than Physical (#41 U.K.), and A Trick of the Night (#32 U.K.).

Tracklist:

1-) True Confessions.2-) Ready or Not.3-) A Trick of the Night.4-) Dance with a Stranger.5-) In a Perfect World.6-) Venus.7-) Do Not Disturb.8-) A Cut Above the Rest.9-) Promise to Try.10-) More Than Physical.11-) Hooked on Love.

WOW! album is Bananarama's fourth studio album, released in September, 1987. It is entirely produced and co-written with the Stock Aitken Waterman production trio and is the last album by the girl group to generate significant chart hits in the U.S. Tensions between group member Siobhan Fahey and Stock, Aitken and Waterman regarding songwriting input and lyrical content (particularly with the track "Strike it Rich") prompted Fahey's departure from Bananarama months after its release. By the time of the album's fourth single ("I Want You Back") Fahey had been replaced with Jacquie O'Sullivan (the single version of the song was re-recorded with O'Sullivan). While the album was a moderate success in both the UK and US, it was a particularly big hit in Australia, where it topped the charts. Fahey would resurface in 1989 with her new band Shakespear's Sister. On March 19, 2007, Bananarama's first six studio albums were re-issued by Rhino Records. All re-issues are remastered and each includes several bonus tracks, consisting of B-sides and remixes. The singles released from this album were: I Heard a Rumour (#14 U.K., #4 U.S.), Love in the First Degree (#3 U.K., #48 U.S.), I Can't Help It (#20 U.K., #47 U.S.), I Want You Back (#5 U.K.), and Nathan Jones (#15 U.K.).

Tracklist:

1-) I Can't Help It.2-) I Heard a Rumour.3-) Some Girls.4-) Love in the First Degree.5-) Once in a Lifetime.6-) Strike It Rich.7-) Bad for Me.8-) Come Back.9-) Nathan Jones.10-) I Want You Back.

Live at Wembley Arena is an unofficial release taken from their last date of their 1989 World Tour, in London, England at Wembley Arena. This includes hits from their WOW! album plus a few of their classics. It also includes a cover version of Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad Name.

Tracklisting:

1-) Intro.2-) Nathan Jones.3-) I Heard a Rumour.4-) I Can't Help It.5-) Love, Truth & Honesty.6-) Once in a Lifetime.7-) Ecstasy.8-) Shy Boy.9-) Robert De Niro's Waiting.10-) Really Saying Something.11-) Cruel Summer.12-) Love in the First Degree.13-) Venus.14-) I Want You Back.15-) You Give Love a Bad Name.

Descargar/Download-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pop Life (1991)

Pop Life is Bananarama's fifth studio album, released in May, 1991. is the only album released which features Jacquie O'Sullivan, who replaced Siobhan Fahey in Bananarama upon her departure in 1988. This album marks the end of the group's association with the Stock Aitken Waterman production team (they produced only two songs) as most of Pop Life was produced by Youth (real name Martin Glover). UK singer Zoë provided backing vocals on "Long Train Running". This would be the last album of Bananarama as a Trio. Upon its release Pop Life did earn some positive reviews from critics but was a commercial failure, peaking at number forty-two in the UK. Four mid-charting singles were issued from the album, and following the release of "Tripping on Your Love", O'Sullivan left the group, leaving members Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward to continue as a duo. The album was a departure from their previous albums as it incorporates a much more diverse range of musical genres, including flamenco guitar (a cover of the Doobie Brothers song "Long Train Running" featuring Alma de Noche, a pseudonym for the Gypsy Kings), retro-rock ("Only Your Love", "Outta Sight"), acid house ("Tripping on Your Love"), reggae ("What Colour R the Skies Where U Live?"), experimental club ("Megalomaniac"), and their hallmark Eurodisco sound ("Preacher Man", "Ain't No Cure"). On March 19, 2007, Bananarama's first six studio albums were re-issued by Rhino Records. All re-issues are remastered and each includes several bonus tracks, consisting of B-sides and remixes. The singles released from this album were: Only Your Love (#28 U.K.), Preacher Man (#20 U.K.), Long Train Running (#30 U.K.), and Tripping on Your Love (#76 U.K.).

Please Yourself is Bananarama's sixth studio album in April, 1993 by London Records, the last release the group had on this label. It is also the first album from Bananarama as a duo - with original members Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward continuing after the departure of Jacquie O'Sullivan the previous year and the last to feature both Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward to play bass guitar on some tracks on the album. Please Yourself also reunites Bananarama with two-thirds of the Stock Aitken Waterman production team (Stock and Waterman). Musician Gary Miller was brought in to do keyboards and guitar and would be Bananarama's next collaborator on their next album Ultra Violet. Please Yourself features songs in a europop style, similar to a 1990s version of Swedish pop band ABBA. It is the first Bananarama album not to get a release in the United States, and upon its release in the UK, it was panned by critics and charted at a low number forty-six. There was a limited double CD edition featuring 12" remix of former hit singles. Dallin and Woodward have later admitted in interviews that they are not fond of this album. On March 19, 2007, Bananarama's first six studio albums were re-issued by Rhino Records. All re-issues are remastered and each includes several bonus tracks, consisting of B-sides and remixes. The singles released from this album were: Movin' On (originally released in 1992, #24 U.K.), Last Thing on My Mind (originally released in 1992, #71 U.K.), and More More More (#24 U.K.).

Tracklist:

1-) Movin' On.2-) Last Thing on My Mind.3-) Let Me Love You One More Time.4-) More More More.5-) Is She Good to You?6-) Only Time Will Tell.7-) Give It All up for Love.8-) You'll Never Know What It Means.9-) You're Never Satisfied.10-) I Could Be Persuaded.

Ultra Violet is Bananarama's seventh studio album, released originally in 1995 and later in early 1996. Originally released in Japan only, with the title I Found Love, the album was renamed and repackaged as Ultra Violet in other countries, including the U.S., Australia, Canada, and continental Europe, where it was marketed either at the same time or in the following years. Neither Ultra Violet nor I Found Love were ever released in the UK, where the band had not had any hits since their 1993 cover of "More, More, More" (and would not again until 2005 with the single "Move in My Direction"). The album was released on various labels, including ZYX Records and DigIt International, depending upon the different countries because Bananarama had no major record deal after leaving London Records, which had produced all of their works before 1993. Musically, the 1995 album continued Bananarama's europop sound, and it was a success commercially. Its biggest success came only from the album's first single, "Every Shade of Blue", which sold well enough in Canada to chart in the Top 40. It also peaked at Number 94 in Australia. Two more singles were taken from the two editions: the title track, "I Found Love", and "Take Me to Your Heart", which was heavily remixed for the single version, which turned it from a rhythm guitar-based, almost acoustic tune into a europop number, much alike the other album tracks. The singles released from this album were: Every Shade of Blue (#35 Canada), I Found Love, and Take Me to Your Heart.

Tracklist:

1-) Every Shade of Blue.2-) Rhythm of Life.3-) Take Me to Your Heart.4-) Prove Your Love.5-) Take Me Away.6-) System.7-) Maybe the Next Time.8-) You've Really Got Something.9-) Time Out.10-) Don't Stop Me Now.11-) Give in to Me.12-) I Found Love.

Exotica is Bananarama's eighth studio album, released in March, 2001. This is Bananarama's third album as a duo, and was produced by Pascal Caubet and issued only in France in 2001 on the M6 Interactions label. The work is a combination of new compositions along with re-recordings of past Bananarama hits, including a Latin pop version of the U.S. and UK Top 10 hit, "Cruel Summer". Two promo-only singles were released from the album: "If" (which was abandoned mostly before release) and a cover version of George Michael's "Careless Whisper". The album was not a commercial or critical success for Bananarama, but the few copies of "If" which made it to the French market have become one of the rarest items ever by the band, heavily sought after by fans and collectors. The singles released from this album were: If and Careless Whisper, both as promo singles.

Drama is Bananarama's ninth studio album, released on November 14, 2005. It features eleven newly recorded tracks, along with a remix of their 1986 smash hit "Venus" (done by Soft Cell's Marc Almond) and a 2005 remix of their 1982 hit "Really Saying Something", an underground bootleg club hit produced by Solasso. Drama is a comeback of sorts for Bananarama members Keren Woodward and Sara Dallin and is their first album to be released in their native UK since 1993. The album's first single "Move in My Direction" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at Number 14, also becoming their first UK Top 40 hit since 1993. The second single, "Look on the Floor (Hypnotic Tango)", also hit the UK Top 40, and climbed to Number 2 on the U.S.Hot Dance Club Play chart as an import, becoming Bananarama's biggest U.S. dancefloor hit since "Venus" two decades earlier. The album mostly incorporates pop and eurodance musical styles, with some synthpop elements. Drama charted at a number 169 in the UK. It was later released in the United States (both in retail stores and as digital downloads) in 2006. While the album performed well on Billboard's Top Electronic Albums chart, peaking at number 21, it did not chart on the Billboard 200, the U.S. Pop Albums chart. The singles released from this album were: Move in My Direction (#14 U.K.), Look on the Floor (Hypnotic Tango) (#26 U.K.), and Frequency.

Viva is Bananarama's tenth studio album, released on September 14, 2009. Viva is Bananarama's fifth album as a duo of Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward, and their first new album since 2005's Drama. It contains the singles "Love Comes" ,"Love Don't Live Here" and other new tracks co-written by Dallin and Woodward, as well as three cover versions – "Rapture" (originally by iiO), "The Runner" (originally a 1979 hit for The Three Degrees) and "S-S-S-Single Bed"" (originally by Fox). The album had been originally conceived as a covers album, however the group changed their mind midway through the recording of the album and wrote original material for it. Apart from the three covers found on the physical CD release, four additional cover versions were made available on download format: "Run to You" (originally by Bryan Adams), "The Sounds of Silence" (originally by Simon and Garfunkel), "Voyage Voyage" (originally by Desireless) and "Tokyo Joe" (originally by Bryan Ferry). The latter two were also issued as b-sides to the vinyl releases of their single "Love Comes" Three of these four bonus tracks were only available until the album's release date. The album charted on the UK Albums Chart at number 87. The singles released from this album were: Love Comes (#44 U.K.) and Love Don't Live Here (#114 U.K.).

Descargar/Download----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bunch of Bananas

Bunch of Bananas is a self-made compilation that gathers Bananarama's non-album tracks such as Love, Truth and Honesty, their first big hit It Ain't What You Do, plus B-sides, and some single versions. Hope you like it. :)

Demos is another self-made compilation comprising several of their demos such as some released in their aborted 1989 album, some other demos from their Pop Life sessions, some others from their aborted 1999 album, among others. Enjoy!!

Hey people!! I want to remind you that every cd you listen to after you've listened to it please make the most effort to go out and buy it. Remember that we should always support artists. Thank you very much!!